West Coast record label revived in Arden

Organic Records is back for a new season, and this time, it’s homegrown.

After pressing pause for more than a decade, the formally Portland-based label is sprouting up in Arden.

“It is time to bring back Organic Records,” said Mickey Gamble, COO of Crossroads Entertainment & Marketing, a three-decade old company that acquired the label in 2005. “This current music climate lends itself to reintroduction of the label.”

So what is this current climate that producing ideal conditions for Organic’s reintroduction? Music is becoming less and less defined by genre, and Organic Records has a legacy of presenting artists that are developing their own musical identity outside the confines of traditional classifications.

Scott Wagner, senior vice president, worked with Organic Records in its first life.

“Back in the mid-90s, Organic was much more of an alternative rock label,” he said, with such bands as Bride and The Channel Surfers.

“In that time, we were doing a lot of unique stuff,” he said. “We found acts that needed national exposure.” Organic Records went into hibernation when the original owners — a family group — decided to leave the entertainment business. “We feel like what is trending now for music is good for (the Organic Records revival),” said Ty Gilpin, senior director of marketing.

“There is certain diversity and range going on right now,” he added. “We feel like there is a lot of that going on regionally, as well.” Gilpin noted that they are courting some local acts that fit this bill.

The label will launch with two new releases this year: The first is from the multi-award-winning mandolinist Adam Steffey who merges bluegrass and old-time styles with his album “New Primitive.” Next: Up-and-coming female artist Iodine has a release scheduled for later in the year with a style that has been described as “Appalachian rock.”

Organic Records 2.0 is certainly not changing its original focus of great music with no boundaries, but the music industry in general has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Traditional music store sales have shrunk in the shadow of digital downloads and online streaming.

But Wagner noted that these changes have also resulted in new opportunities for accessing audiences — and doing it in the most direct ways ever, with social media platforms.

“The biggest difference between 10 years ago and what’s going on now is that it’s a lot more about live shows, fan connection with the bands and access to music discovery on social media,” said Gilpin. “We will be implementing more tools and will be doing video production.”

Wagner also emphasized that there are still a lot of dollars being spent on music, but that fans aren’t necessarily spending them at brick-and-mortar stores (Asheville bucks this trend: We support three record stores in the city).

“Maybe they are instead spending money on the live experience,” Wagner said. “In that way, we are trying to stay ahead of the curve to promote that and educate the artist about that.”